Google and Facebook are currently the two biggest players in the online review space. They are considered “major” review sites.
In this post, you’ll learn the key differences between Google reviews and Facebook “Recommendations.” Each review site has its benefits, but as you’ll see, they are quite different.
Google Reviews
Google reviews are reviews left for businesses, by customers of those businesses, on Google platforms, namely Google Search and Google Maps. The reviews show up on your Google Business Profile, which is how your business is displayed on Google Search and Maps.
Customers rate your business out of five stars and can leave feedback, as well as select from positive attributes that Google provides, depending on your type of business. Google reviews help you attract more customers from local search results on Google.
Here’s what Google says about reviews on their platform:
“High-quality, positive reviews from your customers can improve your business visibility and increase the likelihood that a shopper will visit your location.”
Google Business Profile Help
Facebook Recommendations
In 2018, Facebook switched from reviews to “Recommendations.”
The most obvious difference between Google reviews and Facebook recommendations is that Facebook recommendations are not based on a 5-star rating system. They used to be, back when they were simply “reviews.” Now, when your customer leaves a Facebook Recommendation, they simply choose to recommend your business or not recommend your business. It’s a “yes or no” system.
Like with Google reviews, customers can add feedback and additional content to their recommendations.
As you can imagine, being popular on the biggest social media site will help you expand your reach and grow your business.
Which Review Site Is Best for Local Businesses?
Short Answer
Give priority to Google, but don’t ignore Facebook.
Longer Answer
You should get reviews on both Google and Facebook. Google and Facebook are platforms that your customers and potential customers likely use almost every day, just for different reasons. Google reviews will help you perform better in local search results, while Facebook Recommendations will help your business bost engagement on social media.
Give priority to Google when generating reviews. However, give your customers options to leave reviews. Some of your customers may prefer to leave Google reviews, while others may prefer Facebook. By giving your customers options, you can get reviews on Google and Facebook.
If you also have listings on industry-specific review sites, consider adding one of those to the mix as well.
Get More Reviews
ReviewThread can help help you get more reviews on the sites that matter most, like Google and Facebook.
